Digital signal cross-connect equipment plays a vital role in the installation, monitoring, testing, restoring and repairing digital telecommunication networks. Digital signal cross-connect modules are frequently used in digital networks to provide a central cross-connect location that is convenient for testing, monitoring, restoring and repairing infrastructure equipment associated with the communication of digital signals. Digital signal cross-connect modules are frequently used in a variety of locations, such as telephone central offices, remote sites and customer premises.
Currently, digital signal cross-connect modules provide access to a single circuit at a time to perform testing, monitoring, patching and repairing. This is accomplished using a dedicated single access module or a removable module capable of being interchanged to access multiple circuits. Single access modules are limited to accessing a single circuit from a dedicated location and thus an individual module is required for each circuit, thereby increasing cost and sacrificing density. Density as used herein refers to the number of circuits that may be connected to a piece of telecommunications equipment such as a panel per unit of size. For example, a panel of a given size that may connect to more circuits will have a greater circuit density than a panel of the same size that connects to fewer circuits.
Removable modules may be utilized with multiple circuits by physically removing them from one location and installing the module in another location to access another circuit. However, while a removable module may provide access to multiple circuits, multiple access points are still required, thereby limiting density.
Thus, current single access dedicated modules, removable modules, panel systems and backplanes may inhibit efficiency in space management, limit attainable density, and increase cost.